Mom, 18, charged in death of her son
Toddler killed by car while unattended in apartment parking lot
The young mother of a 1-year-old boy who was struck and killed in a southeast Houston apartment complex is now facing charges in her toddler’s death.
Gissel Vazquez, 18, was charged with state-jail felony endangering a child after the boy was struck and killed Wednesday by a driver in the parking lot of the Big Red Apartments in the 6300 block of Tierwester, police said. The driver, who fled the scene but later returned, has not been charged.
Vasquez was carrying her 2-month-old baby across the parking lot and didn’t realize that her other young son was about 75 to 100 feet behind her, prosecutors said in an early Thursday court hearing. She walked into an apartment in the complex and shut the door, unknowingly leaving the boy behind in the parking lot along with his cousin, who is of similar age, prosecutors said.
Surveillance video from the parking lot shows a woman backing out of a parking spot and then driving forward, hitting the toddler and knocking him to the ground. He lay in the parking lot unresponsive for nearly two minutes before Vasquez reappeared with a child carrier.
She later told officers that she left the apartment to look for the boy once she realized she did not know where he was, prosecutors said. Several family members live in the small complex and young children typically play in the parking lot alone, Vasquez told police.
She ran to her son once she saw him laying lifeless on the ground. She carried him away from the spot to try and give him help, but efforts to save the young boy’s life were futile.
Paramedics immediately pronounced him dead, placing a child-size white sheet over his body as police investigated the circumstances.
Vasquez appeared in probable cause court and broke down in tears as a prosecutor read details of her son’s death.
“We feel their pain,” Houston Police Department Cmdr. Salam Zia told reporters Wednesday outside the apartments. “Anytime we lose a child or anyone in the community, we feel that.”
The driver who struck the boy drove off, Zia said. She later returned and was subjected to a field sobriety test, which is typical in any fatal vehicle incident, Zia said.
Zia said it was not clear if the woman realized she had hit the child before she drove off. He urged drivers to pay attention when in parking lots, and urged parents to keep a close eye on their children.
“Keep kids close to you,” Zia said. “Know where they’re at, watch them, don’t leave them by themselves. Kids will be kids.”
Vasquez was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. The boy’s identity was not immediately released.